Let's Go Oil Kings...Hockey Hooky Day!

Another field trip this week!  Who knew that a teacher could legitimately take students out of school for a day of fun at Rexall Place?  Our class, along with a few others from the school, did just that!  We went to watch the Oil Kings win!

Here we all are, ready for the game to begin...

...bouncing up and down with excitement!

The students had hot dogs and pop for lunch.  A few got other treats and there were a few souvenirs as well.  How else do you say that the Oil Kings are #1?  For some this was their first hockey game ever!

Some knew all about goals, and slapshots and penalties!

No matter if it was their first or fiftieth time, when there was one of these....

there was one of these!  They certainly knew how to cheer!

After one high sticking incident that led to a penalty, one darling poked me and stated"  He just did what you told us never to do!"  Hooray!  A connection was made!

A few participated in the puck toss, but sadly, the winner was Z5533, 

and all our pucks started with E....

...but one lucky guy managed to snatch this up in the shirt toss!

Thanks to the four parents who braved the cold and the bus ride to be with us, getting us food, helping buy the souvenirs, taking us to the bathroom and keeping us safe!  Thanks to our school leaders for letting us play 'hooky' today!

Hearing and Hockey

Today was our Hearing and Sound in school field trip.  Our guest was Dr. I. M. TuLoud, who with the help of some lovely mommy helpers, took the children through five different work stations to explain many of the concepts in our current science unit.  Here one of the boys is using the sign language alphabet to decipher a clue.

What makes a low pitch?  What makes a high pitch?

At what decibel level can sounds be harmful to our ears?

Do sounds move through solids, liquids or gases better?

(Don't you love that face?  I think she just made a connection in her learning!!)

Here's our guest who used the tubes to help the students 'see' the sound vibrations.

It was a very successful morning!

Day Two of the floor hockey games....the students spent three weeks before honing their skills,

including passing, shooting, and proper stick handling.  They had a blast!

MARVELLOUS Monday

Last Friday, the students were shown such kindness as they worked with and learned from some Jr. High students both here and at the other school.  Today, the students were able to reciprocate as they became the 'big' helpers for some Gr. One buddies.  The primary classes have undertaken to work on a variety of ways to become more in tune with the characteristics of being great citizens.  In the late fall, the students learned how to be "bucket fillers."  Today, they filled out applications for becoming members of the "Kind Kids Klub."

Because it is a little more difficult to do this when you are only learning to write, the Grade Three students assisted the Grade One students in completing their application forms.

Lots more words....

...and a real sense of pride in a job well done!

...

What does a member of the "Kind Kids Klub" do?  In the month of February, they will be performing a random act of kindness, like the one below, each and every school day....

...so expect to see a 'kind kid' show up at your house!

Look at all this learning!  I was so very pleased!  Learning what natural resources, goods and services, exports and imports are all about in Grade Three is simply a challenge.  This group has risen to this challenge.  Learning to read a non-fiction resource and find information, is also a challenge. Though it is part of the Language Learning curriculum, its obvious use is in other curricular areas, such as science and social.  They are learning the special features of non-fiction writing, and expanding their thinking to not only find what's in the text, but also what that information means.  In fancy terms, they are learning to synthesize.  The students were able to find the information shown above, using the index, and explain what the information meant.  For example, if Peru grows sugarcane, artichoke, asparagus and mangoes for export, that means that the land is suited to that crop and that the weather allows the growth of those crops.  We all agreed that no one in Alberta grows mangoes!

Ask your little one if they can identify some of the text features of these pages in their social text.  Can they find:  captions, diagrams, headings, and bold type, for example?

A FUN Friday!

What a wonderful day, full of learning, involving students in older grades willing to be leaders to our class!  In the morning, our Grade Seven buddies came in to help us create our pipe cleaner snowflakes. We had read the story of "Snowflake Bentley", a farmer's son who dedicated his life to capturing the first images of snowflakes on film using a microscopic camera.  It is because of this man's work that we know that each and every snowflake is an individual creation of God and like us, there are no two alike!

Once the pipe cleaners were twisted, and string tied, they were suspended in a cup with a borax solution.  Over the weekend, we hope to see crystals added to our creations, just like crystals are added to the specks that start to become snowflakes.

In the afternoon, we travelled over to Jean Vanier Catholic School where the students in the Ukrainian Bilingual Jr. High program had prepared a most informative look into the culture of one of the countries we explore in Social Studies.  Each was dressed in a traditional blouse, shirt or even a soccer jersey.

We got to see the money of the Ukraine, here pinned onto an embroidered cloth.

When a student in the Ukrainian Bilingual program finishes Kindergarten, they receive a doll, like those  that the students are admiring.

How far reaching are the movies of Hollywood?  Here is Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs! spoken in Ukrainian.

Those young men in front are leading the students in learning the dance steps....say it with me: step -  behind - step - kick.....

and once it was practised, the students tried it with traditional music!

Probably everyone's favourite, that transcends the language barrier, was the opportunity to try to shoot a ball at the soccer net.....soccer is a huge favourite in Ukraine!

Thanks to the grandpa and mother who joined us on our little journey and thank you to the Jr. High students who were so willing to share their knowledge with us!

Just another little reminder:

Students have music on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday so PLEASE have their recorders packed for those days.  Library is on Friday, so books should be returned then.  THANKS!

Hearing and Sound - Science Explorations

The important thing to know about science at the primary level is that the same emphasis is placed on the students skills, attitudes and understandings.  Generally, the inquiry should lead the students to investigate the nature of things, and through their experiments, lead them to become better observers and be able to make a mindful inference.  Curiosity, confidence in their own ability, willingness to try new ideas, perseverance, willingness to work with others in a responsible and co-operative manner and respect for living things are all learner expectations.

Here is an example of an understanding that the students can gain from their shared experiment experience.  The students have already completed two different experiments to learn about high and low pitches.  Those experiments involved watching a ruler vibrate and listen to the sounds and the second was to strike various size nails and again listen to the sounds made.  This time, the students made predictions about what they would hear when a whistle was blown.  The wooden dowel changed the pitch because of the amount of air in the chamber, but the students don't know that.  Will they be able to take what they already know, their schema, and make a reasonable prediction as to what size of air chamber the whistle will make a high pitch and what size it will make a low pitch.

To ensure that the students are safe from germs, a rubber bulb was placed at the end and squeezed to push the air out of the whistle's chamber.

On this sheet, the students had to record their predictions in the first three sets of boxes.

It is only after the students have completed the experiment that they can honestly know if their thinking was on the right track.  Being able to record their ideas, and observations are also important to the science experience.

Invisible - A Message of Hope

Perhaps one day, your child will say "Hey, that girl came to my school!" when you are watching some Country and Western music show.  It will be true!  On Tuesday, a lovely young lady, herself in Grade Twelve, visited our school and performed three of her original songs to send a message to all.

The students sat raptly and were touched by Livvy Jean's message of hope to all those who are bullied.  To look at her, she told the kids, you would think she was a member of the girls' volleyball team, or drama club.  But she doesn't attend a regular school anymore.  From Grade 5 to 8, after moving to a new school, she was a victim of silent bullying.  She was terribly hurt, and finally stopped attending that school, but turned to her music as a way to find herself again.

She gives back to her community by talking to kids, who like herself, may not feel that they fit in.  She offered great advice and touched the children with her songs.  One sweet young boy during the question session, just said "That was so beauctiful!"  It was!  She inspired the students to know that life is wonderful and that no one should make them feel "invisible" which is the name of her song that can be downloaded from iTunes.

 

To add to her generousity, Livvy Jean signed cards for each and every student in the school, speaking to them presonally.  The chidlren were entralled and many of them expressed interest in buying her CD.  She will come back and deliver them to the students, signing them as well.  The cost is $10.00

Look at that smile!  She was this genuine with each and every child!

My class loved her!!

 

Here are some dates that you should put onto your calendars for both this month and next:

 

Friday, Jan. 25 - Afternoon at Jean Vanier School (volunteers needed)

Tuesday, Jan. 29 - Hearing and Sound in school field trip (thank you for volunteering)

Wednesday, Jan. 30 - Hockey Hooky @ Rexall (How FUN!!)

Thursday, Jan 32 No School (PD for teachers)

Monday, Feb. 4 - Progress Reports go home

Thurs., Feb. 7/Fri. Feb. 8 - Teacher's Convention (No school)

Tuesday, Feb. 12 - Shrove Tuesday

Wednesday, Feb. 13 - Ash Wednesday

Thursday, Feb. 14 - Valentine's Day

Monday, Feb. 18 - Family Day Holiday in Alberta (no school)

Tues., Feb. 19 - 100th Day of School!!

Saturday, Feb. 22 - Family Dance (6:00 - 8:30 p.m.)

 

Just by the by, thank you for reading this blog on a regular basis.  This is my communication tool that allows you as a parent to know what your child is experiencing and learning in our classroom.  I would love to hear from you.  There is a comment box after each post and it would let me know that someone out there is reading there posts!  As well, I have had 18 'followers' all year.  I would love you all to follow me!  Maybe I can get over 20 this month!  Seriously, I so enjoy letting you know how much your dear children are learning!